See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/308539337

Drilling of Gas Hydrate Reservoirs

Article  in  Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering · September 2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.jngse.2016.09.058

CITATIONS READS

7 1,736

1 author:

Şükrü Merey

37 PUBLICATIONS   94 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Wellbore Stability Forecast with Application on Hydrate Reservoirs View project

Numerical Codes for Gas Hydrates View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Şükrü Merey on 10 October 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jngse

Drilling of gas hydrate reservoirs

Şükrü Merey
Middle East Technical University, Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Ankara, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: With the consumption of conventional hydrocarbon reserves and advancement in drilling technology,
Received 9 August 2016 recently there is a high interest in gas hydrates in the world. Due to lack of experience and sensitive
Received in revised form nature of gas hydrates, drilling in gas hydrate reservoirs were considered as risky. However, recent
16 September 2016
drilling data in gas hydrates shows that successful drilling operations in gas hydrate reservoirs are
Accepted 21 September 2016
possible with some special measurements such as specially designed drilling fluid and cement slurry etc.
Available online 23 September 2016
In this study, open-hole riserless drilling, drilling with riser in marine environment, logging while
drilling, drilling fluid, cement and coring systems used in hydrate exploration are explained.
Keywords:
Gas hydrates
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
LWD
Drilling
Coring
Cementing

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1167
2. Gas hydrate well location selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1168
2.1. Logging while drilling (LWD) in gas hydrate wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
3. Drilling in gas hydrate reservoirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
4. Drilling fluid selection in gas hydrate wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172
5. Casing cementing in gas hydrate wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1173
6. Coring in gas hydrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1174
7. Discussion about drilling in gas hydrate wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1175
8. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1176
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1176

1. Introduction attached by solid hydrogen bonds at low temperatures and high

pressures. The gas and water molecules are tightly bonded by van
With the consumption of conventional oil and gas reservoirs, der Waals force on the other hand (Sloan and Koh, 2008; Carroll,
recently unconventional gas reservoirs such as gas hydrates and 2009; Ye and Liu, 2013; Merey and Sınayuç, 2016b). Although
shale gas have become very popular. Moreover, these reservoirs are natural gas might include methane and other impurities such as
considered as less harmful for the environment (Kok and Merey, ethane, propane etc., 99% of gas hydrate reservoirs includes 100%
2014). Gas hydrates are ice-like structures formed at high pres- methane (Kvenvolden, 2002; Demirbas, 2010; Collett et al., 2015).
sure and low temperature conditions. Basically, gas molecules Methane gas hydrates are commonly observed in marine envi-
(methane, ethane, propane, etc.) are trapped in the cage structure ronment and permafrost regions. However, it is considered that
formed by water molecules. The latticed water molecules are approximately 99% of methane (CH4) hydrates are found in marine
environment (Max et al., 2013; Ruppel, 2014). As shown in Fig. 1, gas
hydrates are mostly located on near shore area in marine envi-
ronment because these regions are organic rich and temperature,
E-mail address: merey@metu.edu.tr.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.09.058
1875-5100/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1168 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179
Fig. 1. Gas hydrate distribution map (SBC, 2015).
pressure conditions are appropriate for gas hydrate formation.
Since 1970s, many gas hydrate reservoir calculations have been
done in the world with very unlimited data such as sediment type,
organic content, gas hydrate stability zone, temperature, pressure,
etc. Hence, there are big differences in these reserve calculations
because of different assumptions made by different scientists
(Johnson, 2011; Chong et al., 2016). However, even the most con-
servative estimates place the amount of gas contained within hy-
drate deposits at least two times larger than the global estimates of
conventional natural gas of 4.4
1014 standard m3 (Koh et al.,
2012).
There are mainly four production methods for gas hydrates:
depressurization, thermal injection, carbon dioxide (CO2) injection
and chemical injection Depressurization method is mainly to
decrease reservoir pressure below hydrate equilibrium pressure
and dissociate gas hydrates. Thermal injection is applied by
increasing reservoir temperature with hot water or steam and
disrupt hydrate equilibrium conditions. CO2 hydrate is the most
stable compared to CH4 hydrate so there is a replacement of CO2
and CH4 and this provides CH4 production (Chen et al., 2015a; Xu
and Li., 2015; Abbasov et al., 2016; Merey and Sınayuç, 2016c).
Recently, many gas hydrate exploration and production projects
have been implemented because of their abundance potential
(Arora et al., 2015; Merey and Sınayuç, 2016a). Several production
wells and injection wells in Mallik Field, Canada have been drilled.
Depressurization and thermal injection production methods were
tested in this field (Takahashi et al., 2001; Collett et al., 2009).
Similarly, the first offshore gas hydrate well was tested in 2013 by
depressurization production method and 120,000 m3 CH4 was
produced in 6 days in Nankai Field, Japan (Saeki, 2014). CO2 injec-
tion production method was firstly tested in Ignik Sikumi Field,
Alaska by injecting 77.5% N2 and 22.5% CO2 and CO2-CH4 replace-
ment was observed. During the test, 855 Mscf of CH4 and 1136.5 bbl
water were produced (Schoderbek et al., 2013; Kvamme, 2016). As
well as production tests from gas hydrate reservoirs, some coun-
tries such as USA, Japan, India, Korea, China and Turkey are
currently conducting gas hydrate exploration activities, mainly,
seismic survey, drilling exploration wells, coring, logging etc.
(Boswell et al., 2012; Saeki, 2014; Sahay and Johnson, 2014; Singh
and Prakash, 2015; Ryu et al., 2013; Liu et al., 2015; Max and
Johnson, 2016).
Previously, there are many reviews on the gas hydrate produc-
tion methods, marine gas hydrate geochemistry, and seismic sur-
veys (Kvenvolden, 1995; Koh and Sloan, 2007; Makogon, 2010; Sun
et al., 2014; Xu and Li, 2015; Chong et al., 2016). However, there are
not any review summarizing drilling activities in this area. There-
fore, in this review, it is aimed to summarize and discuss the drilling
operations in gas hydrate reservoirs.
2. Gas hydrate well location selection
During the exploration of gas hydrate reservoirs, seismic sur-
veys, gas seepages, gas plumes, gas hydrate mounds in marine
environment, temperature and pressure profiles are evaluated
(Majumdar et al., 2016; Beaudoin et al., 2014; Barnard et al., 2016).
According to the results of these exploration studies, possible
drilling locations are determined. Temperature and pressure profile
of marine environment and permafrost settings are quite important
to understand the thickness of gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ)
where gas hydrate reservoirs likely to exist. As shown in Fig. 2, in
marine environment, from sea surface to sea floor, temperature
decreases and then it increases in sediments. In marine environ-
ment, CH4 hydrate is stable if sea depth is higher than 300e400 m
(Demirbas, 2010; Thakur and Rajput, 2011). Below the depth where
blue curve and orange curve intersect in Fig. 2, CH4 hydrate is not
stable and if gas exists below this depth, it is free gas in pores. For
example, an average temperature increase by 3  C per 100 m
sediment depth (geothermal gradient), when drilling at a water
depth of 300 m, we can expect to find a 300-m-thick hydrate layer.
At 1000 m water depth, the layer will be 600 m thick (Rinkel, 2013;
Majorowicz et al., 2013).
In order to consider gas hydrate as an energy source, gas hy-
drates should be evenly distributed in sediments. Especially, gas
hydrates in coarse sand reservoirs are considered as target gas
hydrate reservoirs for gas production. Therefore, gas hydrates
formed as mound near sea floor are not currently considered as an
energy source (Moridis et al., 2008, 2013; Kurihara et al., 2011;
Merey and Sınayuç, 2016a). Mainly, there are three gas hydrate
reservoirs: Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 as seen in Fig. 3. At the same
conditions, Class 1 reservoirs are the most promising in terms of gas
production because free gas zone below hydrate zone eases the
depressurization of gas hydrate reservoir (Kurihara et al., 2011;
 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179 1169

Fig. 2. Stability conditions for gas hydrates (Beaudoin et al., 2014).

Fig. 3. Types of gas hydrate reservoirs.

Moridis et al., 2013; Xu and Liu, 2015; Merey and Sınayuç, 2016a;
Boswell and Collett, 2016; Chong et al., 2016).
Class 1 gas hydrate reservoirs are commonly found near the
bottom of GHSZ and below gas hydrate section, there is a free gas
section because pressure and temperature conditions are outside of
gas hydrate equilibrium conditions at free gas section (Kucuk et al.,
2015; Merey and Sınayuç, 2016a). Due to phase difference between
gas hydrate section and free gas section near GHSZ, there is a
seismic anomaly which is called bottom simulating reflectance
(BSR). BSR lines are commonly used to determine the gas hydrate
reservoirs (Vadakkepuliyambatta et al., 2015; Kucuk et al., 2015;
Kim et al., 2016; Majumdar et al., 2016). According to Majumdar
et al. (2016), BSR increases the chances of finding gas hydrates by
2.6 times as opposed to drilling outside a BSR. Hence, the following
criteria are investigated to determine gas hydrate reservoir location
and to drill exploration and/or production wells (Pohlman et al.,
2009; Max et al., 2013; Boswell, 2014; Vadakkepuliyambatta
et al., 2015; Chen et al., 2015b; Miwa et al., 2016; Merey and
Sınayuç, 2016a):
➢ Gas hydrate stability zone (appropriate temperature and pres-
sure conditions)
➢ Organic rich sediments (especially near shore area in marine
environments)
➢ BSRs
➢ High gas hydrate saturation and avoiding shallow gas
➢ Gas seepages and plumes near the study area
➢ Mud volcanoes, pockmarks and mound near the study area
Logging while drilling is an important operation to select dril-
ling test and production well locations:
1170 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179
2.1. Logging while drilling (LWD) in gas hydrate wells
Gas hydrates dissociate when temperature and or pressure
outside of gas hydrate stability zone. Hence, with conventional
coring methods, gas hydrates in the core dissociate at rig floor.
Logging while drilling is considered as a quick way to investigate
the sediments where gas hydrate exists instead of long coring op-
erations (Collett, 1992; Cook et al., 2009; Sahay and Johnson, 2014).
In Gulf of Mexico, many scientific wells were drilled with LWD
method to get many scientific data such as gas hydrate saturation,
lithology, fractures, etc. By using the LWD equipment of Schlum-
berger, gamma ray log, density log, NMR porosity log, resistivity log,
and sonic logs were taken in Gulf of Mexico (Collett et al., 2009;
Cook et al., 2009; Guerin et al., 2009; McConnell et al., 2009).
Table 1 lists the behavior of well logs in gas and gas hydrate
zones. Hence, gas hydrate zones can be determined with LWD.
Resistivity log shows high peaks in the sediments where gas hy-
drate exists. Fig. 4 shows that gas hydrate saturation are highest
where resistivity log values are high. As well as log data, drilling
data such as drilling rate can be used to determine gas hydrate
zone. Generally, in gas hydrate sections, the relative drilling rate
decreases, due to the solid nature of the gas hydrate (Collett, 1992).
3. Drilling in gas hydrate reservoirs
In the world, currently, there is much experience of drilling for
conventional oil and gas explorations both in offshore and onshore
environment. However, especially, drilling gas hydrate wells is still
immature. Hence, scientists mostly evaluate the drilling in gas
hydrates with only little data related to gas hydrates and their
guesses. There is a common idea that drilling gas hydrate reservoirs
is quite risky. Some of these risks are listed as (Yakushev and Collett,
1992; Maurer, 2000; Tan et al., 2005; Kim et al., 2007; Amodu,
2008; Khabibullin et al., 2010; Liang et al., 2014; Xu et al., 2015;
Golmohammadi and Nakhaee, 2015):
➢ Plugging of borehole due to gas hydrate formation
➢ Blowout because of sudden gas hydrate dissociation
➢ Slope failure risk due to sudden gas hydrate dissociation
➢ Wellbore stability problems and wellbore collapse risks due to
the loose sediments after gas hydrate dissociation.
After the beginning of 2000, many exploration, injection and
production test wells were drilled in gas hydrate reservoirs both in
marine environment and permafrost. In permafrost, many pro-
duction and injection test wells were drilled in Mallik Field (Can-
ada), Qing-Tibet Plateau (China), Ignik Sikimu Field (USA) (Saeki,
2014; Zhang et al., 2014; Schoderbek et al., 2013). In marine envi-
ronment, many gas hydrate wells were also drilled in Gulf of
Mexico (USA), Nankai Field (Japan), Krishna Godavari Basin (India),
Ulleung Basin (Korea), South China Sea (China) and Mount Elbert
(Alaska North Slope) (Collett et al., 2012a; MH21, 2008; Sahay and
Johnson, 2014; Ryu et al., 2013; Shengxiong et al., 2015; Lee et al.,
2011). Around 99% of gas hydrate reservoirs are found in marine
sediments (Max et al., 2013; Ruppel, 2014). The aim of recent
Table 1
Well logs in gas and gas hydrate zones (Sahay and Johnson, 2014).
Gas zone Gas hydrate zone
Resistivity Increase Increase
NMR porosity Decrease Decrease
Acoustic velocity Decrease Increase
Neutron porosity Decrease Increase
Density porosity Increase Increase
marine gas hydrate drilling expeditions are mostly to collect core
and log data from gas hydrate reservoirs and use these cores for
mainly the following analysis (Bohrmann et al., 2007; Jiang et al.,
2011; Kim et al., 2012; Hyodo et al., 2013; Wei et al., 2015):
➢ Sediment analysis (sediment types, grain size analysis, etc.)
➢ Geochemical analysis (TOC analysis, 13C analysis, pore water Cl
analysis, etc.)
➢ Saturation determination (hydrate saturation, water and gas
saturation)
➢ Rock analysis (porosity, permeability and rock strength, etc.)
Most of marine gas hydrate drilling expeditions are currently
being held for exploration purposes because scientists plan to get
many information about gas hydrate reservoirs with these wells
and then finally they plan to drill production test and observations
wells (Collett et al., 2015). Hence, especially in offshore drilling,
most shallow gas hydrate exploration wells are drilled without
riser. Many exploration wells (holes) were drilled in Gulf of Mexico,
Nankai Field (Japan) and Krishna-Godawari basin (India) without
risers (McConnell et al., 2009; Moridis et al., 2010; Tanahashi, 2011;
Rach, 2008). However, for production test wells and observation
wells, drilling in offshore were mostly completed with riser as in
Nankai Field (Japan) (Takahashi et al., 2005; MH21, 2008; Fujii et al.,
2015).
Fig. 5 illustrates offshore gas hydrate well drilling with and
without risers. Mostly, drilling without riser is conducted for
shallow exploration and scientific purposes. For gas hydrate ex-
plorations, many wells (holes) are drilled this way where there are
strong BSRs. Generally, logging while drilling (LWD) and coring
operations are conducted in these riserless drilling as in Gulf
Mexico and India (McConnell et al., 2009; Moridis et al., 2010; Rach,
2008). On the contrary, drilling with riser are conducted for injec-
tion, observation and production test wells as in Nankai Field
(Takahashi et al., 2005; MH21, 2008) These wells are drilled ac-
cording to the data gained in riserless drilling. Table 2 summarizes
operational differences in drilling with and without riser for gas
hydrate exploration.
Compared to conventional oil and gas reservoirs in marine
sediments, gas hydrates exist in shallower sea sediments (Max and
Johnson, 2016). Fig. 6 illustrates the difference between the drilling
depths of gas hydrate and conventional deep-water oil and gas
deposits when sea depth is assumed as 2500 m. Hence, gas hy-
drates exist inside shallow sea sediments. However, expensive
drilling ships and semisubmersible rigs are mostly designed to be
used for deep marine conventional oil and gas exploration. Hence,
there is an idea to use specifically designed submersible rigs for gas
hydrate exploration because these rigs are considered as cheaper
and much practical compared to drilling ships and semi-
submersible rigs (Spagnoli and Freudenthal, 2013; Freudenthal and
Wefer, 2013; SBC, 2015; Abid et al., 2015). In 2001, submersible-
deployed micro-drill was developed by Texas A&M University for
a project in order to obtain samples from shallow gas hydrates in
Gulf of Mexico (NAP, 2004). Similarly, the sea floor drill rig MeBo is
a robotic drill rig that is deployed on the sea bed and remotely
controlled from the research vessel and it was developed at the
MARUM Research Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at
Bremen University as shown in Fig. 7. Many coring operations for
gas hydrate exploration were conducted with MeBo rig. New
version of MeBo is capable of drilling a depth of 200 mbsf
((Spagnoli and Freudenthal, 2013; Freudenthal and Wefer, 2013;
Freudenthal et al., 2015). With the development of technology,
these kinds of rigs are likely to be used widely for marine gas hy-
drate exploration.
 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179 1171

Fig. 4. Hydrate saturations from Archie's equation and LWD porosity and resistivity logs in Hole WR 313-G for the target sand layers from 2700 to 2900 fbsf (Cook et al., 2009).

Fig. 5. A) Riserless offshore gas hydrate well drilling B) Offshore gas hydrate drilling with riser.

Table 2
Comparison of offshore drilling with and without riser for gas hydrates (Kolle and Max, 2000; McConnell et al., 2009; Guerin et al., 2009; Moridis et al., 2010; Demirbas, 2010;
Ryu et al., 2013; Rogers, 2015).

Drilling Drilling operations

Without riser ➢ Drilling is conducted without riser for fast LWD and coring operations
➢ Mostly seawater is used as drilling fluid unless there is flow inside the well.
➢ Cuttings are transported from the bottom of well to seafloor and near sea floor, debris forms.
➢ No casing is set into the well.
➢ Mostly wells are abandoned with sea water after LWD operations.
➢ If there is flow from well to seafloor (observed by ROV vehicle camera in Fig. 5) heavy drilling fluid or cement plug are pumped into well then well is
abandoned.
With riser ➢ Drilling is conducted with riser and wellhead is also used.
➢ Generally, specially designed drilling fluid for gas hydrates is used to avoid any dissociation effect on gas hydrates.
➢ Cuttings are transported to the offshore rig via drilling fluid.
➢ Specially designed casings are inserted and they are cemented with specially designed cement for gas hydrates.
➢ Mostly these wells are drilled for production tests and observation wells in order to investigate the feasibility of gas hydrate production methods.
1172 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179
Fig. 6. Drilling depths of gas hydrate and conventional deep-water oil and gas deposits
if sea depth is 2500 m (Adapted from Max and Johnson, 2016).
4. Drilling fluid selection in gas hydrate wells
Drilling fluid design is very crucial in all drilling operations.
Different than conventional oil and gas wells, in gas hydrate wells,
there is also a risk of dissociating gas hydrate which might cause
Fig. 7. Schematic overview of the major components of the MeBo (Freudenthal and Wefer, 2013).
slope failure, wellbore collapse, kick, and other health and safety
problems (Maurer, 2000; Liang et al., 2014; Fink, 2015). As well as
the main functions of drilling fluid such as cutting transports, etc.,
drilling fluid in gas hydrate well should not affect gas hydrate
section.
During riserless LWD drilling in Gulf of Mexico nearly 182.88
mbsf, many wells were drilled and mostly sea water was used as
drilling fluid. Most of the problems were the similar problems
observed in every shallow marine drilling. Rarely near BSRs where
free gas exists, gas flow through the sea floor was observed via ROV
camera then the weight of sea water was increased with weighing
additives to kill wells. The wells drilled in Gulf of Mexico obviously
shows that gas hydrate in sediments are not very sensitive and they
do not dissociate immediately. Hence, many successful drilling,
coring and LWD operations were completed in Gulf of Mexico
(Guerin et al., 2009; McConnell et al., 2009; Cook et al., 2009).
It is important to separate exploration well and production test
wells in gas hydrates. Exploration wells drilled without riser is
mainly to investigate lithology and gas hydrate properties with
LWD and coring operations, then wells are abandoned. Therefore,
the stability of well is not very important for long term. However,
during drilling of production test wells and observation wells, the
stability of wells is quite important and wellbores should be less
affected during drilling because these wells are subject to long
production tests. Hence, during drilling production test wells and
observation wells, all necessary measures should be taken. For this
reason, instead of using sea water, specially designed drilling fluid
should be used. Table 3 shows the drilling fluid compositions used
in different gas hydrate field trials and some experimental studies.
During drilling, drilling fluid temperature should be kept near the
temperature of gas hydrate sediments (Fink, 2015). In Mallik Field
(permafrost) during the drilling of production test wells, lecithin-
water solution was used because lecithin is an effective additive
to keep gas hydrate formation stable during drilling (Burger et al.,
2006). In Nankai Field, KCl polymer and sepiolite drilling mud
were used during drilling of gas hydrate wells. Although in gas
hydrate zones, there were no borehole enlargement, these en-
largements were observed in other non-hydrate layers (MH21,
2008). Compared to KCl mud, sepiolite mud is mostly used during
riserless gas hydrate drilling expeditions as in NGHP Expedition in
India (Collett et al., 2012b). Sepiolite mud is mostly used to increase
 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179 1173

Table 3
Drilling fluid composition in gas hydrate field trials.

Field Purpose Drilling fluid

Mallik Field, Canada (Burger et al., 2006)
Nankai Field, Japan (MH21, 2008)
NGHP Expedition, India (Collett et al., 2012b)
Ignik Sikimu Permafrost Field, USA
(Schoderbek et al., 2013)
Production test wells and injection wells
production test wells and observation wells
Scientific expedition wells
Production test well
6 weight % lecithin-water solution and a water based drilling fluid
(Telnite, KCl/polymer system)
KCl-polymer mud and sepiolite drilling fluid
Sepiolite drilling fluid
Oil-based drilling mud

viscosity to transport cuttings from the bottom of the well to the hydration) of Class A, Class G and Class H are shown. These cements
sea floor and it is mostly used with saline or seawater. Its harm to are commonly used in conventional oil and gas reservoirs.
environment is negligible (Alvarez et al., 2011; Andrews et al., Because of high heat of hydration of conventional well cements,
2016). specially designed cement slurry is necessary to avoid gas hydrate
Grigg and Lynes (1992) proposed that oil-based mud could help dissociation after casing cementing in gas hydrate wells. Therefore,
control the formation of gas hydrates instead of water-based mud. these specially designed cements for gas hydrates should have
In Ignik Sikimu field (permafrost), CO2-CH4 swapping production (Halliburton; Schlumberger; Schoderbek, 2011; Silpngarmlert,
method was planned to be tested (Kvamme, 2016). While drilling 2011; Schoderbek et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2014):
the production test well in this field, oil based drilling fluid was
used during drilling of gas hydrate sections because it was ➢ Lower heat of hydration than conventional cements
considered that oil based mud does not affect gas hydrate stability ➢ Lower thermal conductivity than conventional cements
and does not cause gas hydrate dissociation. Moreover, there is no ➢ Superior anti-gas migration performance than conventional
risk of oil based mud to freeze in cold surface conditions of Alaska cements
(Schoderbek et al., 2013). ➢ Low density for oceanic hydrate deposits as well as high
compressive strength
5. Casing cementing in gas hydrate wells
Some cement types used in Mallik Field, Ignik Sikumi field and
Nankai field are shown in Table 4. Temperature is an important
Casing and cementing operations are quite important for the
parameter for gas hydrate wells. Hence, it is important to monitor
wellbore stability and especially for conventional oil and gas res-
reservoir temperature in gas hydrate sections during cementing,
ervoirs, wells might produce more than 50 years so successful
perforation and production tests. The distributed temperature
casing and cementing operations are necessary (Bourgoyne et al.,
sensing (DTS) and array-type RTD (Resistance Temperature De-
1986). During gas hydrate explorations for scientific purposes,
tector) are connected from the outside of casings to monitor the
mostly riserless open-hole wells are drilled and no casing is
transient temperature profiles (Schoderbek et al., 2013; Wang et al.,
inserted to these well because the main objectives of these wells
2014). For example, Ignik Sikumi field, cementing plan was to
are to get log data and core data of marine sediments where gas
mix 5  F bulk cement with 37  F lake water to yield a 40  F slurry.
hydrates exists. However, if there is water and/or gas flow through
However, slurry temperature increased to approximately 80  F after
sea floor detected by ROV camera, cement plug is pumped into
mixing of ingredients and shearing to ensure uniform properties.
wells to stop flows. In Gulf of Mexico, many cement plugs are
Then, this slurry was pumped to the well and maximum recorded
inserted to openholes during gas hydrate expeditions. Mostly, near
temperature was 75  F at 2483 ft by DTS. Hydrate-bearing strata in
BSRs and GHSZ, gas flow was observed but in gas hydrate section,
the Sagavanirktok Upper C Sandstone naturally cooled back into the
no flow was observed so gas hydrate zones were not affected
hydrate stability zone within 18 h to its original temperature nearly
during drilling in Gulf of Mexico expeditions (Claypool et al., 2005;
42  F (Schoderbek, 2011; Schoderbek et al., 2013). Similarly, to the
McConnell et al., 2009; Guerin et al., 2009; Collett et al., 2012a).
heat released during cementing, during perforations, heat is
Different than gas hydrate scientific expeditions, casing and
released and it causes hydrate dissociation. Fig. 10 shows the
cementing operations are essential for gas hydrate production, in-
change of gas hydrate reservoir temperature after perforation with
jection and observation wells. In Fig. 8, the well profiles and casings
time in Ignik Sikumi production test well. The temperature
of a pilot well in Nankai field, CO2-CH4 production test well in Ignik
changed after cementing in Nankai field is also shown in Fig. 11 and
Sikimu and 5L-38 well in Mallik Field are shown. During casing
cementing caused almost 10  C increase. Although gas hydrate
settlements and cementing operations in these wells, the problems
reservoir temperature is increased by cementing and perforation
such as sudden dissociation of gas hydrate, kick, poor cementing
and gas hydrate dissociates, the reservoir temperature and gas
and wellbore collapse, etc. were not observed in these wells during
hydrate stability conditions turns back to almost its original con-
short-term well monitoring (MH21, 2008; Schoderbek et al., 2013;
ditions in closed system after some waiting times.
Fercho, 2002). These successful gas hydrate well drilling activities
Although the completion cementing operations in gas hydrate
are important to show that drilling and completion operations for
sections were applied for almost all gas hydrate production test
gas hydrates are not as risky as it is considered. In order to un-
wells, it was not implemented in the first marine gas hydrate
derstand the long term success of casing and cementing operations,
production test in Nankai Through. Instead of it, gravel packing
long-term well monitoring is necessary during long-term gas pro-
operations were conducted to keep the production test section as
duction from gas hydrate wells.
stable as possible. The main reason of this was to test gas produc-
In conventional oil and gas wells, the heat released after casing
tion from the marine gas hydrate sediments for the first time
cementation is not important because reservoir temperature is also
without any formation damage during cementing. After 120,000
high (Bourgoyne et al., 1986; Nelson, 1990). However, the heat
standard m3 CH4 production in 6 days with depressurization pro-
released after the hydration of cement might influence gas hydrate
duction method, 1060 ft3 sands were produced and then produc-
zones because gas hydrate reservoir temperature is quite low
tion test was terminated to solve these problems (Terao et al.,
(Wang et al., 2014). In Fig. 9, the heat evolution (or heat of
1174 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179

Fig. 8. Gas hydrate well profiles: a) Nankai Field (MH21, 2008) b) Ignik Sikimu Field (Schoderbek et al., 2013) c) Mallik Field- Mallik 5L-38 (Fercho, 2002).

Fig. 9. Heat evolution for different types of cement (Pang et al., 2013).

Table 4
Specially designed cements used in some fields.

Casing Cement type Wait on cement

00
Mallik Field (Fercho, 2002) 7 Production casing @ 1200 m BJ lightweight polarset cement 16.5 h
Ignik Sikimu test well (Schoderbek et al., 2013) 75/800
4½00 tapered and instrumented Specially designed low heat-of-hydration cement 18 h
casing string
Nankai Field (Takahashi and Tsuji, 2005) 9 5/800 Casing Halliburton's tuned light cement system 10 days

2014). Moreover, for the long gas production from gas hydrate
sections with depressurization method, there is a need of
completion cement in production section because geomechanical
stability of the sediments decreases enormously after gas hydrate
dissociation (Hyodo et al., 2014a, 2014b).
6. Coring in gas hydrates
LWD method is very important to characterize the sediments
where there is gas hydrate potential and mostly BSR lines are used
to determine the drilling locations in marine environment. How-
ever, only LWD and BSR data is no enough to characterize gas hy-
drate in marine sediments. In order to design a production well and
to select production methods, many core data are needed. These
core data are mainly pressure, temperature, permeability, porosity,
pore water chlorine content, gas hydrate saturation, etc. (De Lange
and Brumsack, 1998; Bahk et al., 2013; Suzuki et al., 2015). Pressure
coring system is essential while coring in gas hydrate sediments
 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179 1175

Fig. 10. Temperature of the hydrate-bearing interval during the perforation procedure as recorded by DTS (Schoderbek et al., 2013).

7. Discussion about drilling in gas hydrate wells

Fig. 11. DTS and RTD temperature transients during the cementing Stage in Nankai
Field (Wang et al., 2014).
because gas hydrate dissociates at surface if pressure cannot be
kept constant. There are different pressure coring systems but all of
these systems aim to transfer cores to surface without any change
(Abid et al., 2015; Wu et al., 2016). In Table 5, some features of
commonly used pressure coring system used recently. Mostly ball
valve type pressure coring systems were used in gas hydrate
studies. However, less than 60% hydrate-bearing sediment pressure
cores can be retrieved by pressure corers based on mechanical
(ball) valves because of sealing failures (Zhang et al., 2016). Fig. 12-a
shows the stuck ball valve of PTCS and pressure of core could not be
maintained. Recently, ice-valve-pressure coring system has been
proposed as an alternative to valve valve-type pressure coring
system. Fig. 12-b shows the basic scheme of ice-valve-pressure
coring system. Mainly, ice is formed as valve at the bottom.
Zhang et al. (2016) proposed that water solution with more than 7%
bentonite mass concentration, ice valve can sustain pressures up to
47 MPa.
For many years, gas hydrates haven been seen as a treat for
conventional and oil well drilling and transmission of gas and oil
with pipelines. However, with the decline of conventional oil and
gas reserves, gas hydrates are considered as a future potential en-
ergy resource because of its vast amount of gas hydrate reserves
especially in marine sediments. Compared to conventional oil and
gas reservoir drilling and production activities, there is almost no
experience in gas hydrates. In this study, a few drilling activities in
gas hydrate wells both in permafrost and marine environment are
summarized. 99% of gas hydrates are available in marine environ-
ment. During drilling of marine gas hydrate wells in field trial
projects in the following marine rigs were used:
➢ Drilling Vessel Uncle John for Gulf of Mexico, USA (Conte and
Bloys, 2005)
➢ The deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu for Nankai Through, Japan
and Krishna Godavari field, India (MH21, 2008; Demas and
Collett, 2016)
➢ D/V Fugro Synergy drilling ship for Ulleung Basin, Korea (Chun
et al., 2011)
All of these drilling vessels and the drilling equipment on these
vessels were designed to drill in deep marine sediments for con-
ventional oil and gas exploration. Daily rent of drilling vessels
might change from $272,000 to $521,000 depending on the prop-
erties of drilling vessels in Spring 2015 (Max and Johnson, 2016).
Gas hydrates are in shallow marine sediments and also mostly
sediments in shallow marine area are loose and easy to drill. Hence,
small drilling ships might be specially designed to drill marine
sediments less than 1 km or submersible robotic drilling systems
like MeBo might be designed and developed to drill for gas hydrate
sediments in marine environment. However, demand and supply

Table 5
Features of different pressure coring system (Adapted from Abid et al., 2015).

Pressure core system Coring tool Coring system Sealing mechanism Core length, m Core diameter, mm Working pressure MPa

Pressure core barrel (PCB) Wireline Rotary Ball valve 5.8 58 34.4
Pressure temperature corer system (PTCS) Wireline Rotary Ball valve 3 66.7 24
High pressure temperature corer (HPTC) Wireline Rotary Ball valve 3.5 54 35
Hybrid pressure coring system Wireline Rotary Ball valve 3.5 51 35
HYACE Wireline Rotary Flapper valve 1 50.8 21
1176 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179
Fig. 12. a) Stuck valve of PTCS (Abid et al., 2015) b) Schematic of the wire line ice-valve-based pressure corer (Luo et al., 2015).
balance is important for the development of these technologies.
Currently, the number of gas hydrate wells drilled in a year is very
low and they are mostly for test purposes. When new production
methods are found and gas production is possible from gas hy-
drates, these technologies might be developed when demand
increases.
Similar to deep-water drilling vessels, the capacities of casings,
drill pipes, mud pumps, power units, etc. used during the drilling of
gas hydrate field trial wells are quite high for shallow marine gas
hydrate reservoirs. By decreasing the diameter of drilling bits, drill
pipes and the capacity of hook system, pumps and power systems,
the cost of drilling of gas hydrate wells might be decreased and
these reserves might be feasible. For instance, Kolle and Max (2000)
proposed that a lightweight, composite drill rig could be deployed
from a dynamically-positioned workboat at a cost of around
$10,000 per day. They proposed that drilling equipment (i.e.
continuous length of mild steel tubing with a diameter of
25 mme100 mm or more that is coiled onto a reel), supplies and
manpower cost $10,000 and gathering lines cost $10,000 in 2000.
The estimated cost per km of gathering well for a simple, coiled
tubing drilling system would be on the order of $30,000 according
to the calculation of Kolle and Max (2000).
Currently, the aims of available gas hydrate drilling and pro-
duction trials are to understand:
➢ Effect of selected drilling fluid on gas hydrate sediments
➢ Effect of selected cement slurry on gas hydrate sediments
➢ Effect of perforation on gas hydrate sediments
➢ Logging operations
➢ Coring operations
➢ How gas hydrate forms in sediments
➢ The source of gas hydrate and its geochemistry
➢ Porosity and permeability of gas hydrate sediments
➢ Flow of gas and water after gas hydrate dissociation in pores
➢ Effect of available gas hydrate production methods on gas hy-
drate sediments
It is obvious that there are many unknowns with gas production
from gas hydrate reservoirs. Hence, currently the cost of drilling
operations is second important. The most important one is to find
best gas hydrate production method and understand many un-
known parameters. If these unknowns are found with many trial
and field projects, there will be attempts to decrease cost of drilling
operations for gas hydrate wells and there will be a gas hydrate
sector renting specially designed drilling vessel or submersible
robotic drillers, drilling equipment, production equipment, logging
equipment, etc.
8. Conclusion
With the consumption of conventional gas reservoirs and
development of drilling, logging and coring technology, many
countries and scientists have focused on the gas hydrate explora-
tions because there are enormous gas reserves in gas hydrates.
Although there are many challenges in gas hydrate exploration,
recently many successful gas hydrate wells have been drilled in
marine environment and permafrost. Almost one decade ago, it was
considered that drilling in gas hydrate reservoirs was quite risky.
However, recent drilling expeditions in marine environment and
permafrost show that gas hydrate does not dissociate immediately
and most of the drilling problems faced were similar to those
observed in conventional drilling operations. It is obvious that
special cares should be taken to maintain gas hydrate reservoirs as
stable as possible with drilling fluid selection and cement compo-
sition selection. Hence, compared to production technology in gas
hydrates, drilling technology is much more developed in gas hy-
drate well drillings.
References
Abbasov, A., Merey, S., Parlaktuna, M., 2016. Experimental investigation of carbon
dioxide injection effects on methane-propane-carbon dioxide mixture hy-
drates. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.07.065.
Abid, K., Spagnoli, G., Teodoriu, C., Falcone, G., 2015. Review of pressure coring
systems for offshore gas hydrates research. Underw. Technol. 33 (1), 19e30.
Alvarez, A., Santaren, J., Cubillo, E., Aparicio, P., 2011. Developments in palygorskite-
sepiolite research, chapter: current industrial applications of palygorskite and
 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179
sepiolite - chapter 12. In: Gala n, E., Singer, A. (Eds.), Developments in
Palygorskite-sepiolite Research. Elsevier, Asterdam, Holanda, pp. 281e298.
Amodu, A.A., 2008. Drilling through Gas Hydrate Formations: Possible Problems
and Suggested Solutions. Master of Science. Texas A&M University, USA.
Andrews, G.D.M., Schmitt, A.K., Busby, C.J., Brown, S.R., Blum, P., Harvey, J.C., 2016.
Age and compositional data of zircon from sepiolite drilling mud to identify
contamination of ocean drilling samples. Geochem. Geophys. Geosystems.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016GC006397.
Arora, A., Cameotra, S.S., Balomajumder, C., 2015. Field testing of gas hydrates - an
alternative to conventional fuels. J. Pet. Environ. Biotechnol. 6, 235.
Bahk, J.J., Kim, D.H., Chun, J.H., Son, B.K., Kim, J.H., Ryu, B.J., Torres, M.E., Riedel, M.,
Schultheiss, P., 2013. Gas hydrate occurrences and their relation to host sedi-
ment properties: results from second Ulleung Basin gas hydrate drilling expe-
dition, east sea. Mar. Pet. Geol. 47, 21e29.
Barnard, A., Sager, W.W., Snow, J.E., Max, M.D., 2016. A new look at seafloor venting:
natural gas hydrate derivatives. In: The Offshore Technology Conference Held in
Houston, Texas, USA, 2e5 May 2016.
Beaudoin, Y.C., Waite, W., Boswell, R., Dallimore, S.R., 2014. Frozen Heat: a UNEP
Global Outlook on Methane Gas Hydrates, vol. 1. United Nations Environment
Programme, GRID-Arendal. ISBN: 978-92-807-3429-4.
Bohrmann, G., Kuhs, W.F., Klapp, S.A., Techmer, K.S., Klein, H., Murshed, M.,
Abegg, F., 2007. Appearance and preservation of natural gas hydrate from hy-
drate ridge sampled during ODP Leg 204 drilling. Mar. Geol. 244, 1e14.
Boswell, R., Collett, T.S., Frye, M., Shedd, W., McConnell, D.R., Shelander, D., 2012.
Subsurface gas hydrates in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Mar. Petroleum Geol.
34, 4e30.
Boswell, R., 2014. Developments in marine gas hydrate exploration. In: The Offshore
Technology Conference Held in Houston, Texas, USA, 5e8 May 2014.
Boswell, R., Collett, T., 2016. Emerging issues in the development of geologic models
for gas hydrate numerical simulation. Fire Ice, Hydrate News Lett. 16 (1).
Bourgoyne, A.T., Millheim, K.K., Chenevert, M.E., Young, F.S., 1986. Applied Drilling
Engineering. SPE Textbook Series, vol. 2. Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Burger, J., Gupta, D., Jacobs, P., Shillinglaw, J., 2006. Overview on Hydrate Coring,
Handling and Analysis. DOE Report. DE-FC26e02NT41327. Retrieved from
(accessed on 07.08.16.). http://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/908303.
Carroll, J.J., 2009. Natural Gas Hydrates. A Guide for Engineers, second ed. Gulf
Professional Publishing.
Chen, J., Wang, Y.H., Lang, X.M., Fan, S.S., 2015a. Energy-efficient methods for pro-
duction methane from natural gas hydrates. J. Energy Chem. 24, 552e558.
Chen, J., Song, H., Guan, Y., Yang, S., Pinheiro, L.M., Bai, Y., Liu, B., Geng, M., 2015b.
Morphologies, classification and genesis of pockmarks, mud volcanoes and
associated fluid escape features in the northern Zhongjiannan Basin, South
China Sea. Deep-Sea Res. II 122, 106e117.
Chong, Z.R., Hern, S., Yang, B., Babu, P., Linga, P., Li, X., 2016. Review of natural gas
hydrates as an energy resource: prospects and challenges. Appl. Energy 162,
1633e1652.
Chun, J.H., Ryu, B.J., Lee, S.R., 2011. Korea Gas Hydrate R&D Program. Retrieved from
(accessed on 17.09.16.). http://www.ccop.or.th/download/PETRAD/PETRAD59_
2011-03/Doc-06_J-HCHUNetal-KIGAM.pdf.
Claypool, G.E., Collett, T.S., Dugan, B., Freifeld, B., Holland, M., Kastner, M.,
Lorenson, T.D., Schultheiss, P., Roberts, J., Yuk, T.S., 2005. Cruise Report: the Gulf
of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project. Retrieved from (accessed on
06.08.16.). http://energy.usgs.gov/GeneralInfo/EnergyNewsroomAll/TabId/770/
ArtMID/3941/ArticleID/779/Gulf-of-Mexico-Gas-Hydrate-Joint-Industry-Project.
aspx.
Collett, T.S., 1992. Well Log Evaluation of Natural Gas Hydrates. Retrieved from
(accessed on 08.08.16.). http://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/6824342.
Collett, T., Johnson, A., Knapp, C., Boswell, R., 2009. Natural Gas Hydrates- Energy
Resource Potential and Associated Geologic Hazards, vol. 89. The American
Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Memoir.
Collett, T.S., Lee, M.W., Zyrianova, M.V., Mrozewskib, S.A., Guerin, G., Cook, A.E.,
Goldberg, D.S., 2012a. Gulf of Mexico gas hydrate joint industry project leg II
logging-while-drilling data acquisition and analysis. Mar. Pet. Geol. 34 (1),
41e61. June 2012.
Collett, T., Riedel, M., Cochran, J., Boswell, R., Presley, J., Kumar, P., Sathe, A., Sethi, A.,
Lall, M., 2012b. The National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 Scientists
Expedition Summary. Scientific Investigations Report 2012e5054. Retrieved
from (accessed on 06.08.16.). http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5054/pdf/sir2012-
5054_summary.pdf.
Collett, T., Bahk, J.J., Baker, R., Boswell, R., Divins, D., Frye, M., Goldberg, D.,
Husebø, J., Koh, C., Malone, M., Morell, M., Myers, G., Shipp, C., Torres, M., 2015.
Methane hydrates in nature-current knowledge and challenges. J. Chem. Eng.
Data 60 (2), 319e329.
Conte, A., Bloys, B., 2005. Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrates Joint Industry Project
Operational Summary of 2005 Drilling and Coring Program. Retrieved from
(accessed on 16.09.16.). https://www.netl.doe.gov/File%20Library/Research/oil-
gas/methane%20hydrates/GOMJIPCruise05.pdf.
Cook, A., Guerin, G., Mrozewski, S., Collett, T., Boswell, R., 2009. Gulf of Mexico Gas
Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II: Walker Ridge 313 LWD Operations and
Results. Retrieved from (accessed on 05.08.16.). https://www.netl.doe.gov/File%
20Library/Research/Oil-Gas/methane%20hydrates/WR313LWDOps.pdf.
De Lange, G.J., Brumsack, H.J., 1998. Pore-water indications for the occurrence of gas
hydrates in eastern Mediterranean mud dome structures. In: Proceedings of the
Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, vol. 160.
Demas, A., Collett, T., 2016. Large Deposits of Potentially Producible Gas Hydrate
1177
Found in Indian Ocean. Retrieved from (accessed on 16.09.16.). https://www.
usgs.gov/news/large-deposits-potentially-producible-gas-hydrate-found-
indian-ocean.
Demirbas, A., 2010. Methane Gas Hydrate. Springer, New York.
Fercho, E., 2002. Final Well Report. Alberta Japex/JNOC/GSC et al Mallik 5L-38. Grid
# 6930e13430. Japex Canada Ltd.CaClgary.
Fink, J., 2015. Water-Based Chemicals and Technology for Drilling, Completion, and
Workover Fluids. Gulf Professional Publishing, USA.
Freudenthal, T., Wefer, G., 2013. Drilling cores on the sea floor with the remote-
controlled sea floor drilling rig MeBo. Geosci. Instrum. Methods Data Syst. 2,
329e337.
Freudenthal, T., Bohrmann, G., Wefer, G., 2015. Drilling gas hydrates with the sea
floor drill rig MARUM-MeBo. Geophys. Res. Abstr. 17. EGU2015e2012.
Fujii, T., Suzuki, K., Takayama, T., Tamaki, M., Komatsu, Y., Konno, Y., Yoneda, J.,
Yamamoto, K., Nagao, J., 2015. Geological setting and characterization of a
methane hydrate reservoir distributed at the first offshore production test site
on the Daini-Atsumi Knoll in the eastern Nankai Trough, Japan. Part 2,
September 2015 Mar. Pet. Geol. 66, 310e322.
Grigg, R.B., Lynes, G.L., 1992. Oil-based drilling mud as a gas-hydrates inhibitor. SPE
Drilling Eng. 32e38. March 1992.
Golmohammadi, S.M., Nakhaee, A., 2015. A cylindrical model for hydrate dissocia-
tion near wellbore during drilling operations. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 27, 1641e1648.
Guerin, G., Cook, A., Mrozewski, S., Collett, T., Boswell, R., 2009. Gulf of Mexico Gas
Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg Ii: Alaminos Canyon 21 LWD Operations and
Results. Retrieved from (accessed on 05.08.16.). https://www.netl.doe.gov/File%
20Library/Research/Oil-Gas/methane%20hydrates/AC21LWDOps.pdf.
Halliburton. Cementing: HydrateCem™ Cement System. Retrieved from (accessed
on 07.08.16.). http://www.halliburton.com/public/cem/contents/Data_Sheets/
web/H/H05892.pdf.
Hyodo, M., Yoneda, J., Yoshimoto, N., Nakata, Y., 2013. Mechanical and dissociation
properties of methane hydrate-bearing sand in deep seabed. Soils Found. 53 (2),
299e314.
Hyodo, M., Li, Y., Yoneda, J., Nakata, Y., Yoshimoto, N., Nishimura, A., 2014a. Effects of
dissociation on the shear strength and deformation behavior of methane
hydrate-bearing sediments. Mar. Pet. Geol. 51, 52e62.
Hyodo, M., Li, Y., Yoneda, J., Nakata, Y., Yoshimoto, N., Kajiyama, S., Nishimura, A.,
Song, Y., 2014b. A comparative analysis of the mechanical behavior of carbon
dioxide and methane hydrate-bearing sediments. Am. Mineral. 99 (1), 178e183.
Jiang, G., Liu, T., Ning, F., Tu, Y., Zhang, L., Yu, Y., Kuang, L., 2011. Polyethylene glycol
drilling fluid for drilling in marine gas hydrates-bearing sediments: an exper-
imental study. Energies 2011 (4), 140e150.
Johnson, A.H., 2011. Global resource potential of gas hydrateea new calculation. In:
Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Gas Hydrates (ICGH 2011),
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, July 17-21, 2011.
Khabibullin, T., Falcone, G., Teodorlu, C., 2010. Drilling through gas hydrate sedi-
ments: managing wellbore-stability risks. In: EUROPE/EAGE Conference and
Exhibition, Barcelona, Spain, 14e17 June 2010.
Kim, D.H., Bahk, J.J., Lee, J., Ryu, B.J., Kim, J.H., Chun, J.H., Torres, M.E., Chang, C., 2012.
Relationships between gas hydrate occurrence types and sediment character-
istics in the Ulleung Basin, east sea. Econ. Environ. Geol. 45 (4), 397e406.
Kim, N.R., Lomba, R.F.T., Bonet, E.J., Gonçalves, C.J.C., Riberio, P.R., 2007. A review on
hydrates in drilling operations. In: 19th International Congress of Mechanical
Engineering November 5-9, 2007, Brasília, DF.
Kim, K.J., Yi, B.Y., Kang, N.K., Yoo, D.G., 2016. Reservoir characterization of gas hy-
drate in the northwestern part of the Ulleung Basin, East Sea. Mar. Georesources
Geotechnol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1064119X.2016.1139644.
Koh, C.A., Sloan, E.D., 2007. Natural gas hydrates: recent advances and challenges in
energy and environmental applications. AIChE J. 53, 1636e1643.
Koh, C.A., Sloan, E.D., Sum, A.K., Wu, D.T., 2012. Unconventional energy sources: gas
hydrates. In: Ginley, D.S., Cahen, D. (Eds.), Fundamentals of Materials for Energy
and Environmental Sustainability. Cambridge University Press & Materials
Research Society, pp. 137e146.
Kok, M.V., Merey, S., 2014. Shale gas: current perspectives and future prospects in
Turkey and the world. Energy Sources Part A Recovery Util. Environ. Eff. 36 (22),
2492e2501.
Kolle, K., Max, M.D., 2000. Seafloor Drilling of the Hydrate Economic Zone for
Exploration and Production of Methane. Retrieved from (accessed on 04.08.16.).
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi¼10.1.1.625.792&rep¼rep1&
type¼pdf.
Kucuk, H.M., Dondurur, D., Ozel, O., Sinayuc, Ç., Merey, S., Parlaktuna, M., Cifci, G.,
2015. “Acoustic investigations of gas and gas hydrate formations, offshore
southwestern Black Sea.”. In: American Geophysical Union-Fall Meeting,
December 14-18, 2015, San Francisco, USA.
Kurihara, M., Ouchi, H., Narita, H., Masuda, Y., 2011. “Gas production from methane
hydrate reservoirs”. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Gas
Hydrates (ICGH 2011), Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, July 17-21, 2011.
Kvenvolden, K.A., 1995. A review of the geochemistry of methane in natural gas
hydrate. Org. Geochem. 1995 (23), 997e1008.
Kvenvolden, K.A., 2002. Methane hydrate in the global organic carbon cycle. Terra
Nova 14 (5), 302e306.
Kvamme, B., 2016. Thermodynamic limitations of the CO2/N2 mixture injected into
CH4 hydrate in the Ignik Sikumi field trial. J. Chem. Eng. Data. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1021/acs.jced.5b00930.
Lee, M.W., Agena, W.F., Collett, T.S., Inks, T.L., 2011. Pre- and post-drill comparison of
the Mount Elbert gas hydrate prospect, Alaska North Slope. Mar. Pet. Geol. 28,
1178 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179
578e588.
Liang, Z., Chong, Z., Haidong, H., Dongming, Q., Yu, Z., Shaoran, R., Zhiming, W.,
Manzong, F., 2014. Gas hydrate risks and prevention for deep water drilling and
completion: a case study of well QDN-X in Qiongdongnan Basin, South China
Sea. Pet. Explor. Dev. 41 (6).
Liu, C., Meng, Q., He, X., Li, C., Ye, Y., Zhang, G., Liang, J., 2015. Characterization of
natural gas hydrate recovered from pearl river mouth basin in South China sea.
Mar. Pet. Geol. 61, 14e21.
Luo, Y.J., Peng, J.M., Sun, M.Z., Sun, Q., Ji, T., Bo, K., 2015. An ice-valve-based pressure-
coring system for sampling natural hydrate-bearing sediments: proof-of-
concept laboratory studies. J. Nat. Gas. Sci. Eng. 27, 1462e1469.
Majumdar, U., Cook, A.E., Shedd, W., Frye, M., 2016. The connection between natural
gas hydrate and bottom simulating reflectors, 06/2016 Geophys. Res. Lett..
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069443.
Majorowicz, J., Osadetz, K., Safanda, J., 2013. Methane gas hydrate stability models
on continental shelves in response to Glacio-Eustatic Sea level variations: ex-
amples from Canadian oceanic margins. Energies 6, 5775e5806.
Makogon, Y.F., 2010. Natural gas hydrates e a promising source of energy. J. Nat. Gas
Sci. Eng. 2, 49e59.
Maurer, W.C., 2000. Gas hydrate drilling problems. In: Gulf of Mexico Hydrate R&D
Planning Workshop, August 9-10, 2000.
Max, M.D., Johnson, A.H., Dillon, W.P., 2013. Natural Gas Hydrate e Arctic Ocean
Deepwater Resource Potential. Springer Cham, Heidelberg New York Dordrecht
London. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02508-7.
Max, M.D., Johnson, A.H., 2016. Exploration and Production of Oceanic Natural Gas
Hydrate. Springer, Switzerland. ISBN 978-3-319-43384-4.
McConnell, D., Boswell, R., Collett, T., Frye, M., Shedd, W., Guerin, G., Cook, A.,
Mrozewski, S., Dufrene, R., Godfriaux, P., 2009. Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint
Industry Project Leg II: Walker Ridge 313 Site Summary. Retrieved from
(Accessed on July 20, 2016). https://www.netl.doe.gov/File%20Library/Research/
Oil-Gas/methane%20hydrates/WR313SiteSum.pdf.
Merey, S., Sınayuç, C., 2016a. Investigation of gas hydrate potential of the Black sea
and modelling of gas production from a hypothetical Class 1 methane hydrate
reservoir in the Black sea conditions. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 29, 66e79.
Merey, S., Sınayuç, C., 2016b. New software that predicts hydrate properties and its
use in gas hydrate studies. J. Chem. Eng. Data 61 (5), 1930e1951.
Merey, S., Sınayuç, C., 2016c. Experimental set-up design for gas production from
the Black Sea gas hydrate reservoirs. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. (2016) 33, 162e185.
MH21, 2008. Japan's Methane Hydrate R&D Program. Phase 1 Comprehensive
Report of Research Results August 2008 Edition. Retrieved from (accessed on
15.07.16.). http://www.mh21japan.gr.jp/english/wp/wp-content/uploads/
ca434ff85adf34a4022f54b2503d86e92.pdf.
Miwa, M., Yamashita, S., Itaya, K., Hachikuba, A., Sakagami, H., Yamasaki, S.,
Konishi, M., Minami, H., Kataoka, S., 2016. Surveys of gas plumes off Hokkaido,
Sea of Okhotsk. In: Japan Geoscience Union Meeting, May 22-26, 2016, Chiba,
Japan.
Moridis, G.J., Collett, T.S., Boswell, Ray, Kurihara, M., Reagan, M.T., Koh, C.,
Sloan, E.D., 2008. Toward production from gas hydrates: current status,
assessment of resources, and simulation-based evaluation of technology and
potential. In: SPE Unconventional Reservoirs Conference Held in Keystone,
Colorado, U.S.A., 10e12 February 2008.
Moridis, G., Collett, T.S., Pooladi-Darvish, M., Hancock, S., Santamarina, C.,
Boswell, R., Kneafsey, T., Rutqvist, J., Kowalsky, M.B., Reagan, M.T., Sloan, E.D.,
Sum, A.K., Koh, A., 2010. Challenges, uncertainties and issues facing gas pro-
duction from hydrate deposits in geologic systems. In: Society of Petroleum
Engineers, Unconventional Gas Conference 131792, 2010, February 23e25.
Moridis, G.J., Collett, T.S., Boswell, R., Hancock, S., Rutqvist, J., Santamarina, C.,
Kneafsey, T., Reagan, M.T., Darvish, M.P., Kowalsky, M., Sloan, E.D., Coh, C., 2013.
Chapter 37: gas hydrates as a potential energy source: state of knowledge and
challenges. In: Lee, W.J. (Ed.), Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts. © Springer
ScienceþBusiness Media, New York. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-
3348-4_37.
National Research Council (NAP), 2004. Committee to Review the Activities
Authorized under the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of
2000. ISBN: 0-309-54499-8. National Research Council, p. 202, 6 x 9. http://
www.nap.edu/catalog/11094.html.
Nelson, E.B., 1990. Well Cementing. Schlumberger Educational Services, Texas.
Pang, X., Bentz, D.P., Meyer, C., Funkhouser, G.P., Darbe, R., 2013. A comparison study
of portland cement hydration kinetics as measured by chemical shrinkage and
isothermal calorimetry. Cem. Concr. Compos. 39, 23e32.
Pohlman, J.W., Kaneko, M., Heuner, V.B., Coffin, R.B., Whiticar, M., 2009. Methane
sources and production in the northern Cascadia margin gas hydrate system.
Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 287, 504e512.
Rach, N., 2008. US-India study discovers large gas hydrate presence. Retrieved from
(accessed on 03.08.16.). Oil Gas J. 106 (7). http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/
volume-106/issue-7/exploration-development/us-india-study-discovers-large-
gas-hydrate-presence.html.
Rinkel, A., 2013. Natural Gas Hydrates. Retrieved from (accessed on 07.08.16.).
https://www.marum.de/en/Natural_gas_hydrates.html.
Ruppel, C., 2014. Permafrost-Associated gas hydrate: is it really approximately 1 % of
the global system? J. Chem. Eng. Data 60, 429e436.
Rogers, R., 2015. Offshore Gas Hydrates: Origins, Development, and Production. Gulf
Professional Publishing, USA.
Ryu, B.J., Collett, T.S., Riedel, M., Kim, G.Y., Chun, J.H., Bahk, J.J., Lee, J.Y., Kim, J.H.,
Yoo, D.G., 2013. Scientific results of the second gas hydrate drilling expedition in
the Ulleung Basin (UBGH2). Mar. Pet. Geol. 47 (2013), 1e20.
Saeki, T., 2014. Road to offshore gas production test e from Mallik to Nankai trough.
In: The Offshore Technology Conference Held in Houston, Texas, USA, 5e8 May
2014.
Sahay, V.K., Johnson, A., 2014. Gas hydrate deposits of Krishna Godavari Basin, India:
issues and potentiality in exploration and commercial production. In: Offshore
Technology Conference, OTC-25137ePT,OTC.
SBC Energy Institute, 2015. Natural Gas Series Factbook: Gas Hydrates-taking the
Heat Out of the Burning-ice Debate Potential and Future of Gas Hydrates.
Retrieved from (accessed on 12.02.16.). https://www.sbc.slb.com/~/media/Files/
SBC%20Energy%20Institute/SBC%20Energy%20Institute_Gas%20Hydrates_
FactBook.pdf.
Schlumberger. DeepCrete Low-Temperature Cementing Solution. Retrieved from
(accessed on 07.08.16.). http://www.slb.com/~/media/Files/cementing/product_
sheets/deepcrete_ps.pdf.
Schoderbek, D., 2011. Progress Report: First Half 2011-ConocoPhillips Gas Hydrate
Production Test. Retrieved from (accessed on 07.08.16.). https://www.netl.doe.
gov/file%20library/Research/oil-gas/methane%20hydrates/nt0006553-semi-annual-
report-6-30-11.pdf.
Schoderbek, D., Farrell, H., Hester, K., Howard, J., Raterman, K., Silpngarmlert, S.,
Martin, K.L., Smith, B., Klein, P., 2013. ConocoPhillips Gas Hydrate Production
Test Final Technical Report (October 1, 2008eJune 30, 2013). Oil & Natural Gas
Technology. DOE Award No.: DE-NT0006553.
Shengxiong, Y., Ming, Z., Jinqiang, L., Jingan, L., Zijian, Z., Holland, M., Schultheiss, P.,
Shaoying, F., Zhibin, S., 2015. Preliminary results of China's third gas hydrate
drilling expedition: a critical step from discovery to development in the South
China sea. Fire Ice Methane Hydr. Newsl. 15 (2).
Silpngarmlert, S., 2011. Modeling the thermal disturbance of gas hydrate related to
oil and gas production. Fire Ice Methane Hydr. Newsl. 10 (3).
Singh, N.P., Prakash, A., 2015. Natural gas hydrate in India: prospect identification,
production technologies and associated challenges. J. Geogr. Environ. Earth Sci.
Int. 3 (2), 1e24.
Sloan, E.D., Koh, C.A., 2008. “Clathrate Hydrates of Natural Gases”, third ed. Taylor &
Francis/CRC Press.
Spagnoli, G., Freudenthal, T., 2013. Underwater Drilling Rig for Offshore Geotech-
nical Explorations for Oil & Gas Structures. Oil Gas European Magazine 4/2013,
pp. 185e189.
Sun, Y.H., Lu, X.S., Guo, W., 2014. A review on simulation models for exploration and
exploitation of natural gas hydrate. Arab. J. Geosci. 2014 (7), 2199e2214.
Suzuki, K., Schultheiss, P., Nakatsuka, Y., Ito, T., Egawa, K., Holland, M., Yamamoto, K.,
2015. Physical properties and sedimentological features of hydrate-bearing
samples recovered from the first gas hydrate production test site on Daini-
Atsumi Knoll around eastern Nankai Trough. Mar. Pet. Geol. 66, 346e357.
Tanahashi, M., 2011. Present status of Japanese methane gas hydrate research and
development program. In: Hydrate in Japan, CCOP Hydrate Workshop, March 2,
2011.
Takahashi, H., Yonezawa, T., Takedomi, Y., 2001. Exploration for natural hydrate in
Nankai-Trough wells offshore Japan. In: The 2001 Offshore Technology Con-
ference, Houston, Texas, 30 Aprile3 May 2001.
Takahashi, H., Tsuji, Y., 2005. Japan drills, Logs Gas Hydrate Wells in the Nankai
Trough. Retrieved from (accessed on 08.08.16.). http://www.ogj.com/articles/
print/volume-103/issue-34/drilling-production/japan-drills-logs-gas-hydrate-
wells-in-the-nankai-trough.html.
Takahashi, H., Fercho, E., Dallimore, S.R., 2005. Drilling and operations overview of
the Mallik 2002 production research well program. In: Dallimore, S.R.,
Collett, T.S. (Eds.), Scientific Results from the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Pro-
duction Research Well Program, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Can-
ada. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 585, 14 p.
Tan, C.P., Ayoub, F., Clennell, M.B., Tohidi, B., Yang, J., 2005. Managing wellbore
instability risk in gas hydrate bearing sediments. In: Asia Pasific Oil & Gas
Conference and Exhibition, Jakarta, Indonesia, 5-7 April, 2005.
Terao, Y., Duncan, M., Hay, B., Dang, L., 2014. Deepwater methane hydrate gravel
packing challenges and results. OTC-25330-MS. In: Offshore Technology Con-
ference, Houston, Texas, USA, 5-8 May, 2014.
Thakur, N.K., Rajput, S., 2011. Exploration of Gas Hydrates: Geophysical Techniques.
Springer, New York.
Vadakkepuliyambatta, S., Hornbach, M.J., Bünz, S., Phrampus, B.J., 2015. Controls on
gas hydrate system evolution in a region of active fluid flow in the SW Barents
Sea. Mar. Pet. Geol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.07.023.
Wang, X., Takekoshi, M., Kanno, T., Shako, V., Pimenov, V., Parshin, A., Yamamoto, K.,
2014. Numerical simulation on the impact of temperature behavior for cement
hydration for the World's first offshore methane hydrate production test. In:
The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC-25326-MS) Held in Houston, Texas,
USA, 5e8 May 2014.
Wei, J., Pape, T., Sultan, N., Colliat, J.L., Himmler, T., Ruffine, L., Prunele, A.,
Dennielou, B., Garziglia, S., Marsset, T., Peters, C.A., Rabiud, A., Bohrmann, G.,
2015. Gas hydrate distributions in sediments of pockmarks from the Nigerian
margin e results and interpretation from shallow drilling. January 2015 Mar.
Pet. Geol. 59, 359e370.
Wu, D., Peng, J., Sun, M., Gao, Q., Zhang, X., Qiang, S., Bo, K., 2016. Experimental
study on a pressure-coring technology based on a freeze-core valve for marine
hydrate-bearing sediment sampling. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 33, 135e142.
Xu, C.-G., Li, X., 2015. Research progress on methane production from gas hydrates.
RSC Adv. 5, 54672e54699.
Xu, Y., Guan, Z., Xu, C., Zhang, H., Zhang, H., 2015. Risk evaluation methods of gas
 Ş. Merey / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 35 (2016) 1167e1179 1179

hydrate when shallow strata drilling in deepwater area. In: The Offshore
Technology Conference Held in Houston, Texas, USA, 4e7 May 2015.
Yakushev, V.S., Collett, T.S., 1992. Gas hydrates in Artic regions: risk to drilling and
production. In: Proceedings of the Second (1992) International Offshore and
Polar Engineering Conference, San Francisco, USA, 14e19 June 1992.
Ye, Y., Liu, C., 2013. Natural Gas Hydrates, Experimental Techniques. Springer
Geophysics.
Zhang, Y., Liang, J., Li, K., Wang, H., Li, X., Wu, J., 2014. Research progress of drilling
coring and mining on the permafrost natural gas hydrates in China. Procedia
Eng. 73, 362e367.
Zhang, X., Peng, J., Sun, M., Gao, Q., Wu, D., 2016. Development of applicable ice
valves for ice-valve-based pressure corer employed in offshore pressure coring
of gas hydrate-bearing sediments. Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 111, 117e126.

View publication stats